The Soccer Girl
by Kichimairi
Summary: There's a new girl at Raimon. Who is she, and what kind of past does she have? And how come she seems to know everyone she meets?
1. Intro

**Kumi: hai pplz! I'm back with another story! It's my take on IE! X3!**

**Ki: took you long enough. This is only your second story!**

**Kumi: watch it, or I'll kill you**

**IE cast: I honestly think she would, Ki**

**Kumi: (grins and dark aura appears) got that right**

**Ki: great. Just, great.**

**Aki: Kumi and Ki don't own Inazuma eleven or anything in this story, except for Ayumi and the story people!**

"Attention everyone! We have a new student today!" the teacher called out. A girl slowly walked in. "Everyone, this is Ayumi"

"Ohayo, minna" she said to them. Her long brown hair fell down her back and she pushed her bangs behind her ears.

"Your seat is next to Endou. Endou, stand up so she knows where you are."

"Here!" he called out. Ayumi took her seat and class started.

"So are you going to take up a club or not?" Natsumi asked her, holding up a list of the girls clubs.

Ayumi looked through them. There was nothing interesting. "No," she said. "They all look stupid. Might as well not take up a club at all."

Natsumi glared at her for saying that and Ayumi left the office sighing. She walked out to the fields and saw Endou and a bunch of other people playing soccer. "Soccer…" she muttered. "what if I…"

"Pass it up!" Endou cried, enthusiastic about finally getting into the football frontier.

The ball suddenly went out of bounds, stopping in front of the new girl's feet.

"Excuse me! Can you kick that over here?" He called.

She just stared at the ball, looking surprised. And suddenly, she shot up into the air.

"what!" Someoka yelled as she ran past him.

Kidou stole the ball from her, grinning.

Ayumi smiled as she landed softly on the ground. "Manipulate" she said, grinning, and the ball at Kidou's feet and appeared where she was standing.

"she used a Hissatsu.." Kidou said quietly to Ichinose. "what's next?" he wondered.

Ayumi walked up in front of the goal.

"bring it!" Endou yelled.

She kicked the ball up and jumped. 'finally have the chance!' she thought. She spread her wings and flipped upside down. "Angels' drop!" she yelled.

"God Hand!" Endou yelled. The shot cracked through and went into the goal.

"amazing, Ayumi!" Endou cried.

"I haven't done that in a while, so I'm rusty." She stated. Words floated to her as the whole team came over.

"you should join the soccer club!"

"But she's a girl!"

"yeah, and the football Frontier Finals are here! They don't allow girls!"

'I knew it. It was worthless.' Ayumi thought. "I'm leaving. Ja ne." and she simply left.

**Ayumi's POV**

I flopped onto my bed. Nobody will ever know. What I can do. And with that happy note, I slowly spread my wings. My _real_ wings.

**Kumi: (leans back) ah! Finally done! =w=**

**Ki: gee, that was short**

**Kumi: that was kinda more of an introduction than a chapter**

**Tobitaka: and seriously, what was up with that ending?**

**Kumi: Urusai.**

**Ki: let's just hope nobody hat-*ahem*-dislikes this…**

**Kumi: great. Ok, you people can throw whatever rotten foods as you want at me now!**

**Ki: R&R please, people!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ki: aaaaaaaand… we're back!**

**Kumi: ehehehe! Gomen, gomen! My last chapter really stunk!**

**Ki: I blame you. Your typing skills suck**

**Kumi: (veinpop) you're supposed to edit this thing, so **_**I **_**blame **_**you**_

**Ki and Kumi: (start fighting)**

**Fyuupe: (sweatdrop) this is all Kumiko's OC Ayumi's POV, OK?**

"I'm leaving!" I call out to my brother.

"see you later!" he calls out.

When I get to school, I see the same soccer club outside. I shake my head remembering what they said to me yesterday. I was in dreamland until someone came up from behind me.

"ne, ne! since you can't join the soccer club, maybe you should be a manager!" it was Aki.

"I don't know…" I said quietly.

"I'm pretty sure Endou and the others will be excited to see you!" she tried.

I smiled. "I'll give it a try, OK?"

"OK! See you later then!"

XOXOXOXOXOX

As I walked towards the soccer field, I see someone in the air kicking a ball at Endou.

"this should finish him" I hear the guy mutter.

My eyes widened. Not at what he said. Something totally different. " that's…!"

Before I could finish, he kicked the second ball at everyone, and only one thing came to my mind. I jumped up and kicked the ball with so much force that when the guy caught it, it was steaming.

"Ayumi!" Gouenji exclaimed as I landed.

"what are you doing here." I asked, my voice deadly calm, even though I was trembling with rage on the inside. "why are you here."

"you're Aphrodi, captain of Zeus Junior, aren't you." Kidou said, walking forward.

I didn't take my eyes off Aphrodi.

He smiled dryly, yet his eyes looked sad. "can't I even visit my own sister?" he asked.

I put as much venom as I could into the next words I said. "that's not the real reason you're here, is it."

Aphrodi shook his head. ''no. I came to tell you to forfeit. I-"

"Is that it?" I asked, interrupting him. "if it is, leave."

He stayed where he was.

"I said LEAVE!" I screamed. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

He looked at me sadly and disappeared.

"he said Ayumi was his sister…" Kabeyama said, frightened.

"that means she's a spy!" Someoka yelled. "Zeus must have sent her!"

I carefully took a step back and ran up the hill.

"wait!" Gouenji called.

I kept running until nobody could see me, spread my wings and flew off to the only place I could think of. The steel tower plaza.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"I knew you'd be here" said a voice behind me.

I shot up and tried to wipe the tears off my face, but it was too late. He had already seen them. "what are you doing here, and how did you know?" I asked Gouenji.

"I heard that you saw this place when you first came here. Plus, I come here a lot, too." He stated simply. He sat down next to me on the bench and put his arm around me.

I blushed when he did this, but Gouenji showed no emotion.

"If you have any problems, you can just tell me. All of us. We're here for you, Ayumi." He said to me.

I looked down for a minute and sighed. " I guess you want to know why Aphrodi called me his 'sister'. I said quietly.

He smiled. "for starters, sure, let's go with that. In fact, tell me the whole story."

I closed my eyes and started.

"yes, Aphrodi is my brother. Our parents died in a plane crash, landing us in an orphanage. He liked to play soccer, but at the time, I wasn't sure why he did. One day, a man came to the orphanage while nee-san was playing soccer. He offered to adopt him, and he accepted. Aphrodi asked if I could come too, but he said some other family would come along and adopt me."

Gouenji's eyes widened, and I knew what he was thinking. It was just like Kidou and Haruna.

" Nee-san didn't tell me about this until the day he was leaving, so I thought I was being betrayed. I knew it was wrong to feel that way, but hey! I was what, 6? So I ran away from the orphanage and ended up in Hokkaido. A family with twins my age adopted me. Turns out they played soccer too, so they taught me the basics and I soon made my own hissatsus. But while we were coming home from the twins match one day, an avalanche happened, and…"

I stopped and my voice trembled. "I think was the only survivor." **(A/N Kumi: sound familiar, anyone?)**

Gouenji looked at me as I wiped away my tears. Damn them. They just keep coming, don't they.

"I ran away again, this time running into nee-san. Except this time he was different. He had a strange, almost scary aura. He looked at me and said 'you're growing up. Why don't you come with me this time?' I shook off his offer, of course, but he threatened to take me with him by force. Once again, I ran off somewhere near Inazuma town, where a foster family took me in. my step-brother likes me, but the parents don'. It's the reason why they sent me to a different school than him. And here we are, talking about this." I finish.

"something tells me you're not telling me everything." Gouenji told me.

I looked away, pretending not to know what I was talking about. "what do you mean? Of course I am!"

"no you're not."

"Yes I am."

"no you're not."

Of course I wasn't. I obviously had to leave _something _out.

"just say it." He pried. He was just like Aphrodi, always poking in to my thoughts, always knowing when he will win.

I stood up.

"fine!" I snapped. I then slowly extended my right wing, showing him what I never wanted anybody to know. "you happy?"

His eyes widened again. "how did you…"

Get them? Well, that's a great question.

"before I ran away from Hokkaido, some guys stopped me. They we're interested in me, since I had survived an avalanche nobody could survive. I had been buried under snow for hours, yet I stayed alive. They brought me to a lab and experimented on me. A year later, using the new skills they had put into me, including the wings, I escaped and came here. End of story, OK?"

Gouenji looked at me. Was it sympathy in his eyes? Or curiosity? I didn't know how those emotions were related, but I just couldn't tell.

He stood up and reached out a hand to me. I stared at it, not understanding what to do. I mean, I just gave out my biggest secret!

"come on," he said. We should go back. It's almost dark, and it's best to tell everyone the truth."

I looked down. "I don't think anyone would like me coming back."

"I won't let that happen." He said.

"promise?"

"Promise."

I smiled and took his hand. Maybe this _would _work out for me. I _could _be accepted for who I am. Thanks to the guy that was standing up to me.

**Kumi: yay! I'm finished!**

**Ki: (stares at the story) you wrote, like, 2 chapters in this thing!**

**Kumi: well yeah, since the last chapter was terrible, I extended this a bit as an apology!**

**Ki: BUT WHY'D YOU INCORPORATE MAXIMUM RIDE INTO THIS THING!**

**Kumi: (scratches back of head) well, it seemed to add a little something to the story, and it fit pretty well!**

**Gouenji: when did I get so… lame?**

**Kumi: my story, my lines.**

**Kogure: shouldn't you be fighting with someone? (points at Ki)**

**Kumi: oh yeah! (continues fighting) **

**Haruna: KOGURE!**

**Kogure: Ushishishishi!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Kumi: heeey! I'm back for more!**

**Ki: something tells me that we do this story more than the truth or dare…**

**Burn: ya do**

**Ki: (raises eyebrow) you want me to work on getting you tortured?**

**Gazelle: (covers Burn's mouth) what he means is, 'yay! Another chapter!'**

**Kumi: OK! On with the story!**

Gouenji dragged me all the way back to the soccer field. When we got there, everyone was waiting, as if they expected me to come back. Oh, wait. They were.

"why are you still here!" Someoka asked loudly. I kept my head down, looking at my feet.

"Ayumi," Gouenji said gently. "just tell them your story."

And of course, I had to. I told them everything. When I was finished, Kidou asked if that was it.

Before I could say anything, Gouenji piped in "yeah, that's it."

Everyone turned to Endou. His decision could either help me or get me kicked out of the school.

Luckily, I think I lost him back at 'they taught me soccer'.

"I think she is telling the truth." He said, thinking. "I don't mind"

I looked up at him.

"I trust her" Kidou also added.

"not you too, Endou, Kidou!" Someoka said, pissed off. He stormed off to who knows where.

"minna, arigato. I don't really deserve this." I mutter.

"of course you do, Ayumi" Gouenji stated flatly. "you're just as important as anyone else.

"AAAAHHH!" Aki exclaimed "I forgot to tell you guys that Ayumi is going to be a manager!"

"of course!" Endou exclaimed. "We should start practicing right away!"

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

After practice, we all walked home. When we came to an alley I stopped.

"I'll be going now. Ja ne."

" Eh? Ayumi, this isn't your usual way, is it?" Endou asked.

"I just want to check on something." I simply said. Turning into the alley, I kept going until I was at the Inazuma General Hospital (A/N I actually don't know if this is the right one, OK?). I went upstairs and knocked on one of the doors.

"come in." a voice inside said. He smiled when he saw me, and I smiled back.

"Ohayo, Jirou-san, Genda-kun."

Sakuma veinpopped. "I told you to call me _Sakuma _when mom and dad aren't around!"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "ok, _Sakuma-kun._"

Genda snickered. Sakuma was pissed, all right. It was _hilarious._

"so, what's up?" he asked.

" meh, nothing much. I joined the soccer club though."

He smiled. "that's good, right?"

I looked down, averting his eyes. "yeah…" I said.

Sakuma put his hand on my shoulder. "you're not like him, Ayumi. Just because he did this to us, doesn't mean you will."

I nodded, but I wasn't so convinced.

"try your best, Ok?"

**Ki: short chappie…**

**Kumi: I'll update sooner, k?**

**Ki: don't you have an announcement to make?**

**Kumi: oh yeah. Minna, thank you so much for your great reviews! To Floric1434****, **** Shizuka Amaterasu, Cursedcupid, and RoyalAssassinSiblings97, thank you so much! You helped me oput sooooo much!**

**Ki: see you next update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Kumi: I told you it would be fast ^^**

**Ki: enjoy!**

**Kumi: O_O Ki! Are you sick?**

I sighed. Today's the day, isn't it? To play against Aphrodi?

When we got to the finals stadium, it said it was closed. "what the heck…" I muttered under my breath.

Natsumi finished talking on the phone. "the finals stadium has been moved." She said.

"to where?" Endou asked.

"well…"

"it's there, isn't it." I said, pointing up. A giant stadium was hovering above the finals stadium.

"yeah."

We went up into the building, walking into a soccer field. Endou looked up. "Kageyama!" he yelled. I looked up to see what he was staring at. All the blood drained from my face.

"Ayumi, what's wrong?" Gouenji asked.

" I-it's him. T-the man from back then."

"what?"

"the man that adopted nii-san."

"EEHHH!" everyone yelled.

Kageyama grinned. I bit my lower lip, trying to keep myself from crying.

Everyone went to the locker room to change. I hung out, watching for anything suspicious. I heard footsteps behind me.

"Ayumi-chan."

"what do you want?" I asked Aphrodi without looking at him.

"just wanted to welcome you. Before you…. You know."

I stared at him. "no, I don't."

He shrugged. "figure it out."

**.::Later in the Match::.**

The game was going terribly. Not just for Raimon, but also for Zeus. I could tell their bodies repelling against something, but what? Suddenly, Aphrodi kicked the ball out of bounds. The whole team walked to the sidelines and took a drink. Wait, wasn't that the same drink from the beginning of the match? I decided to check in on it. I looked at one of the guys holding a clipboard, and placed my fingers to my temple. Time to test this out. Closing my eyes, I concentrated all my energy to my mind. Words and pictures swam before me. Horrified, I stopped to hear what Natsumi and Aki were talking about.

"minna, we have a problem. Follow me." I interrupted. They followed me into a hallway, going after the cart.

"knew it." I muttered.

"nani, Ayumi-chan?" Otonashi asked.

"it's just as she predicted. There is something special to that drink." Natsumi answered.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder, and we all screamed, running away.

"somebody catch them!" the detective yelled.

They came after us, but we managed to shake them off. We saw how the match was going, and everyone was on the ground, unmoving. Endou was getting repeatedly hit by the ball.

"do you still want to fight?" Aphrodi asked him.

'What now?' I wondered.

**.::After the Match::.**

(A/N wow I'm skipping around a lot…)

"we lost even though we obtained the power of the gods… just what kind of people are they?" Aphrodi asked, his voice quavering. I walked over and smiled at him.

"humans," I said. "you're one too, you know." I held out my hand to him, and his eyes widened.

"y-you're willing to forgive me?" he whispered.

I scratched my head. "well, I guess you can say, 'It's hard for me to forgive, and I never forget, but this is an exception'."

He smiled, just like the old Aphrodi would. And he took my hand.

**Kumi: weeeeee! I'm done!**

**Tobitaka: is the story done yet?**

**Kumi: not even close!**

**Ki and Kumi: happy Thanksgiving, minna!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sakuma: why aren't you writing the truth or dare?**

**Kumi: it's harder to write than you think**

**Ki: yeah, you have to type in all the names and stuff**

**Fudou: I just think you're lazy**

**Kumi: who ya calling lazy, lazy?**

**Kidou: the twins don't own Inazuma Eleven, Ks?**

And you thought it was all over. Not even _close._ We now had to fight some Aliea academy creeps, and that wasn't the worst part. It was that the alien named Reize look…familiar. Gouenji was gone. One of the only people that accepted me was gone. Suddenly, Hitomiko kantoku got a message from Hibiki-san.

"At Hakuren Junior High located in Hokkaido…" she read aloud.

I raised my eyebrows. Hokkaido?

She continued. "…bring their ace striker, Fubuki Shirou, onto the team to increase your strength."

I almost fainted. Fubuki…Shirou? But he wasn't a forward, I told myself. There was probably another Shirou in Hokkaido or something. But something tells me I was wrong.

While Furukaba-san and Couch Hitomiko checked the map, everybody went into the Inazuma Caravan. I think the only good thing about this whole 'Aliea Academy' fiasco was that I could play soccer.

"so, who is this 'Fubuki Shirou'?" Endou asked.

Otonashi checked her computer. "here it is!" she cried.

"the bear killer Fubuki?" Someoka read.

"he scored ten points all by himself in one match." Kidou announced.

"Bigger than a bear?"

"he has another nickname, 'Fubuki the Blizzard'."

"this is all the information there is…" Otonashi reported, confused.

Everyone turned to me. I looked up. "nande?"

"you seem to know a lot of people. have you heard anything about him?" Natsumi asked.

"nothing." I said, not looking at her. Later, I fell asleep as the Caravan chugged along. (A/N 'chugged'? really Ki? Really?)

!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!

After the awkward moment with Endou and Touko at the hot spring, Natsumi put up a blown up pink tent for the girls to sleep in. the boys went into the Caravan to sleep. I stared at the tent. "I have to sleep in _that_?" I asked, pointing at it.

"yes." Aki said with a smile.

I sighed. "matoku…" I pulled my sleeping bag outside and stared at the stars. Eventually, I fell asleep, thinking about Shirou-kun.

!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!

Kantoku blew the whistle about a hundred times. I covered my ears, still sleepy from last night.

"wake up!" she yelled. "It's time to go!"

"Yahoo!" Endou yelled as we reached Hokkaido.

"this place has changed a lot since I've been here" I said smiling.

Kabeyama sneezed. "I-i-i-t's f-f-freezing!" he said shivering, wrapped in blankets.

I smiled. To me, it wasn't so bad.

"you seem used to this kind of weather" Ichinose observed.

"yeah, I am. So do you, being from Chicago and all." (A/N you should see Massachusetts!) I replied.

Domon grinned. "of course!"

I yawned. "I'm going back to sleep." I muttered, not listening to anything else.

**Normal POV**

As Ayumi slept, Furukaba stopped the car. "someone's out there" he simply said.

Endou walked out to see a boy with gray eyes and gray hair styled slightly up in spikes. "what are you doing out here in the cold?" he asked him. "get in!" he said, pointing at the caravan.

"A-a-arig-g-gato!" he said, thanking him.

As he was getting in, he looked at the sleeping body of Ayumi. 'why does she look so familiar?' he wondered. As he got warmer, people started asking him questions.

"what are you doing in the middle of a snowfield?" Aki asked him.

"that place is special to me. It's called the Northern Ridge." He answered.

"Northern Ridge? I've heard of that place before. A lot of avalanches occur there, right?" Furukaba-san wondered.

"…yeah…"

"do you play soccer?" that was Endou.

"yeah, I like playing!"

"me too!"

The boy smiled.

Out of the blue, a bear started attacking the caravan. Megane freaked out and fainted. Everyone screamed. Was it odd that Ayumi slept on? The boy suddenly disappeared. The bear roared and fell down. He came back in "it's safe to go out now!" He said.

After they dropped him off, Ayumi woke up.

"We're here" said Couch Hitomiko.

**Ayumi POV**

"So… where is this 'Legendary Striker Fubuki' at?" I asked the guys from Hakuren.

Some noise was heard outside of the door

"is he back?" someone asked.

"Fubuki-kun! Hurry, hurry! We have guests!

"guests?" a voice replied. My eyes widened. I know that voice… could it be…

"huh? It's you guys!" Fubuki said.

"Shirou-kun…" I whispered. He looked at me. "it's really you…" I couldn't take it. I collapsed into his arms.

"Ayumi-chan…" he said into my hair.

"I thought you were dead!" I cried.

"EEEHHH!" everyone yelled. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Kumi: yay! A new chappie!**

**Aphrodi: just sit back and enjoy!**

**Hiroto: I'll do the disclaimer! the twins don't own Inazuma Eleven!**

Shirou-kun took my hand. "let's go to the hallway to talk." He said, pulling me along.

I followed him out, and then stood face to face. He gripped his scarf. Was that Atsuya's scarf? I couldn't tell, since they looked about the same.

"Ayumi-san…" he whispered. "I missed you…"

"me too."

I didn't talk after that, so he pulled me into a hug. I held him tight, like if I let go, he'd disappear on me again. "Don't go away again." I whispered.

"I won't. Promise."

I was beginning to wonder about 'promises'. Gouenji broke his, so now I didn't know who to trust besides Shirou-kun. I fingered the necklace nii-san gave me before I left.

_Flashback_

"_are you going to be alright?" I asked Aphrodi. _

"_Of course," he said defiantly. "it's only side effects from the Aqua of the Gods."_

_Suddenly, I got a text message from Hibiki kantoku. _

_**The Raimon Eleven is in trouble. Get to the school immediately!**_

_I froze as I read the text. "sorry, nii-san. I have to go now." I said reluctantly. _

_He grabbed my arm as I was leaving. "wait. I need to give you something." E reached into his pocket and took out a silver necklace with a blue crystal at the end. _

"_take it. When you need help most, it will help you."_

_I smiled and put it on. "thanks. Get well soon!" I said, leaving the Hospital._

He said when I needed it most. When was that? We were walking down the staircase to the soccer field when we heard some snow rumbling. I clenched my teeth, remembering _that_ time, and stared into the distance, ignoring everything around me. Shirou, on the other hand, crouched down and started to shiver. I didn't seem to notice this until Touko waved her hand in front of my face.

"hello? Earth to Ayumi!"

"Gek! I'm awake!" I cried, snapping back to reality.

"is that guy really a great striker?" she asked.

_Nope!_ I wanted to say. _You have no idea._

Everyone started a snowball fight, while Megane and Kabeyama made snowmen. Shirou, Endou, Couch Hitomiko, Otonashi-san and I went into an igloo. I looked wistfully at the snowball fight. Shirou saw this, and smiled.

"go ahead," he said. "I'll be fine."

I looked at him, not wanting to be away from him at any point, but his eyes told me that he understood. I ran out, suddenly hearing, "get her!" and getting bombarded with snowballs, which took me back to the old days, when Shirou, Atsuya and I were playing together. Crap. Shouldn't have thought that.

My vision started getting cloudy, and my knees buckled.

The last thing I remembered was strong arms catching me and someone yelling my name.

**Kumi: (sobs) NUUUUU! Aphrodi! WHY! Oh, the HUMANITY!**

**Aphrodi: what? What did I do?**

**Ki: she found out you were evil in GO.**

**Aphrodi: NOOOO! WHY, WHY! (bangs head on wall)**

**Ki: AARGH! Go cry to Level-5, not me! Just SHUT UP ALREADY!**

**Kumi: short-tempered -3-**


	7. Chapter 7

**Kumi: sorry… I had midterms, and I was stuck dead middle in a writers block…**

**Ki: school stinks.**

**Disclaimer: If you hadn't already known, I don't own Inazuma Eleven. It's in the Black and White. If you can't see it, you're blind.**

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. "Where… am I?" I muttered. Then I remembered.

I was in my memories. That happened in the past. I call them blackouts, and I literally 'bask in nostalgia'.

As I floated around, I saw a little sliver of light. Might as well get it over with. I swam toward it, enveloping me in a warm glow, then transferring me into a freezing cold setting. I saw a little girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail. She was on the frozen ground, crying. I knew that the girl was me, and that I couldn't really do anything, considering that this was my memories.

A boy with pinkish-orange hair ran over to me (as in the little girl) and brushed snow off her head.

"What are you doing in the snow?" he asked. "Onii-chan! Come quick!"

Another boy with similar hair as the first but silver ran over. "Nani?" he asked.

He looked at me and smiled. "I'm Shirou, and this is my brother Atsuya," he said. "What's your name?"

"M-my name is… Ayumi."

He grinned and took my hand. "Ah, you should come inside, or else you'll freeze!"

'I' smiled. "Hai!"

Because of that, I was adopted and accepted by the Fubuki Twins. A few weeks after that, I noticed that something was stuck under the snow next to an odd looking net. I immediately ran over and picked it up. Brushing off the snow, I recognized it as a soccer ball. my eyes filled with tears. It was what tore apart my other family, my real one, and the one at an old orphanage I knew.

"That's a soccer ball." A voice said behind me. My head jerked up and noticed it was Shirou, leaning over me.

"Yeah… I know…"

"You don't seem to want to talk about it." Atsuya retorted, also coming over.

"Atsuya!"

"Just saying."

I dropped it on the floor and started doing the tricks nii-san did when he was bored.

"Wow! You know how to play soccer?"

I shrugged. At that time, I wasn't very talkative.

"we can teach you!" Atsuya exclaimed. "what position do you play?"

"Don't know… I never really played."

"Cool! We can teach you more, so don't worry!"

That was one of my better memories in my life, just the tiny light of hope I needed.

**.:One year later:.**

We were on our way back from Shirou and Atsuya's recent match. During the ride home, we were talking about how the game went.

"That was so awesome!" Atsuya exclaimed excitedly. "First it's best in Hokkaido, then it's best in Japan!"

I smiled and nodded at what he said. "I think you can!"

"But we were lacking defense. You're lucky you had me to shoot." Atsuya accused.

Shirou pouted and said, "My defense wasn't that bad! Plus, no matter how many points you get, you can't win without a good defense."

"There's nothing cooler than shooting goals!" Atsuya countered back. I sat in the middle, thinking what to do.

To-san saved the argument by piping in. "Then with all of you together, you're perfect!"

"Perfect…?" I muttered.

"I see…" the two boys said. "With all of us together, we'll get stronger! We'll get stronger and become perfect!" They slapped hands, and I lightly placed my hand on top of theirs. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling, then a crash. I stared at it, frozen in shock. Atsuya reacted first. He bumped me into Shirou, and he went toppling out. But the worst possible happened. The door closed, and the snow tumbled and buried the car. I screamed, but the avalanche was so loud it drowned it out.

At that time, I thought it was my imagination, but I heard a small whisper.

"Ayumi-chan…" Atsuya whispered.

I blinked a few times. "A-Atsuya?"

"I'm right here…" A harsh coughing sound was heard.

I sobbed. "I-I'm s-so scared!"

A cold hand touched mine. "Don't worry," he whispered, "don't be scared anymore. You don't have to be alone, and I won't let you be. I _promise _I will meet you again. Be strong Ayumi. Make friends. Discover who you really are. And don't forget us."

I could feel him smile through the darkness. "You're the only one who can help yourself, and we're all proud of you. I don't care if you're my real sister or not. All I care about is that you're my sister at heart. I'm pretty sure Shirou feels the same."

And with that, his whole body went slack right in my hand.

Just.

Like.

That.

More darkness wrapped around me, sending me back to reality. I burst through, in a hospital, only to hear people talking about… me?

"-snowballs for God's sake!" I think that was Kidou. I grabbed his arm.

"Chill. That kind of stuff happens." I said in a small voice.

He blinked, then nodded. Must've been the look on my face. Tears were threatening to spill out, and my eyes said there was something I didn't want to talk about. They all left one by one, until it was only Shirou left.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked tenderly.

I shook my head, and he smiled. "Still not so talkative, huh. Don't worry, I won't ask. I'll let you rest." He started to leave, but I stopped him.

"I... in my… um… dream, I saw us when we were little, up until…"

He paled, and then nodded. "they'll be testing my skills tomorrow, once you're feeling better."

I tilted my head. "They haven't done it yet?" I asked quizzically.

Shirou grinned. "You're cute like that. And no, they want to play with all the players for that. See you."

I blushed as he left. "I need to get stronger," I said, staring at my fist. "Just like Atsuya said. For the sake of everyone."

**Kumi: TT^TT I think I just killed Atsuya…**

**Atsuya: great past you have. It includes me dying.**

**Ayumi: blame Ms. Writer here!**

**Kumi: TTT^TTT you guys aren't making me feel better…**

**Ki: (brother instincts kick in) lay off her, will you? **


End file.
